Paper short abstract:

I will outline the present situation of mother language education in Japan, point out possibilities and problems based on interviews with mother language teaching groups in Hyogo prefecture, and discuss future issues in order to approach this aspect of achieving a multilingual Japan.

Paper long abstract:

Since the amendment of immigration law in 1990, foreigner settlement in Japan has increased, and Japanese language policy is often discussed in relation to integration, but immigrant mother language education is seldom on the agenda.

In Japan, the mother languages of immigrants are mostly taught by private volunteers from within the community. Despite such suboptimal conditions, mother language education contributes not only to the improvement of reading and writing proficiency in the target language but also has a positive influence on learning Japanese and other school subjects for immigrant children. Also, mother language education may be indispensable for the establishment of an individual's identity and self-esteem, as well as for enriching relationships with parents and other relatives. In addition, the interaction of children with those of different cultural backgrounds is a good opportunity for all, both immigrants and native Japanese alike, to open their eyes to different cultures.

There are many immigrant children born and raised in Japan whose "mother" language for identity, as well as cognitive and learning activities, is Japanese. Such children may not feel the need for learning a heritage language and may focus on the "negatives" of learning their mother tongue, such as the effort required, and how it makes them different from their peers, without ever understanding the many positives for themselves and society.

With the exception of Kobe City, there is almost no official support of mother tongue education. Volunteer-based lessons held only once or twice a week are not enough for the thorough development of mother language proficiency.

Is mother language education really necessary? What should be done to improve the circumstances of it? How should we think about the possibilities and problems from ideological and economic viewpoints? Does the coexistence of different languages bring profit to the majority of Japanese society?

In this paper, I will outline the present situation of mother language education in Japan, point out possibilities and problems based on interviews with mother language teaching groups in Kanagawa and Hyogo prefecture, and discuss future issues in order to approach this aspect of achieving a multilingual Japan.